CANTORUM CHOIR & ORCHESTRA. Inspiring Voices Giving Pleasure Cookham s Chamber Choir. Mozart. MUSICAL DIRECTOR ELISABETH TOYE Musical Director

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1 CANTORUM CHOIR & ORCHESTRA Inspiring Voices Giving Pleasure Cookham s Chamber Choir 1.50 Mozart REQUIEM PIANO CONCERTO No 21 VESPERS DE CONFESSORE MUSICAL DIRECTOR ELISABETH TOYE Musical Director ELISABETH TOYE Saturday 24th March 7:30 pm Holy Trinity Church Saturday Cookham 13th October 2012 All Saints Church, Marlow

2 CANTORUM CHOIR antorum Choir is a lively, committed choir of approximately forty C mixed voices. We are based in Cookham, Berkshire, and draw our membership from a wide sector of the Thames Valley. Founded nearly thirty years ago, the choir has built up a reputation as one of the leading chamber choirs in the area, mixing high standards with a warm and friendly social life. We have undertaken several European tours and appeared a number of times on television and in films, notably in the first of the Inspector Morse adaptations. Earlier this year, we appeared with the Brit Award-winning singing group Blake. Currently, we give four or five concerts per year, at least one of them with orchestra. Sopranos Julia Bentley Dawkes, Dawn Dearing Rachel Harrison, Joanna Henwood Sandy Johnstone, Kirsty Kinge Julia Millard, Hilary Monaghan Marianne Stork, Joy Strzelecki Eleanor Vale Tenors William Branston, David Hazeldine Philip Martineau, Malcolm Stork John Timewell Altos Bridget Bentley, Jill Burton Anne Glover, Julie Hughes Elspeth Scott, Chiu Sung Lorna Sykes, Anna Trocmé Latter Gill Tucker Basses Derek Beaven, John Buck Arthur Creswell, Mike Creswell Gordon Donkin, Paul Seddon Inspiring Voices Giving Pleasure Cookham s Chamber Choir 2

3 Elisabeth Toye (Musical Director) Elisabeth is a graduate of Birmingham University and the Royal Academy of Music, where she won the 2004 Michael Head Prize for English Song and the 2005 Arthur Bliss Prize for twentieth Century music. In 2008, she won the A.E.S.S. Patricia Routledge National Prize for English Song and has subsequently built a busy and successful career as a professional soprano, vocal coach, and choral trainer. She has for some years been working with Berkshire Maestros (The Young Musicians Trust) and is currently Director of Berkshire Young Voices and Director of the Royal Borough Children s Choir. In addition, Elisabeth has tutored for the National Youth Choir of Wales and, in 2008, worked alongside the Director of The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Jozef Janik (Piano) Jozef has a BA in music from Zilina Conservatoire, a Postgraduate Diploma and an MA in Music from the Royal Academy, where he studied with Patsy Toh, one of the last students of Alfred Cortot. He has given concerts in Austria, Sweden, France, Poland, England, Japan, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He is a recipient of several prizes that include First Prize in the International Piano Competition in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. In this country he has performed piano concertos by Mozart, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Bach; during 2012 he has performed the Concerto in D minor by J.S. Bach at St. James Piccadilly and Schumann and Beethoven Concertos with Dartford Symphony. Recent concert venues include The Forge in Camden, St. James Piccadilly and the Paris Conservatoire. Programme Notes The composition of Mozart s celebrated Requiem has always been shrouded in mystery a mystery only intensified in depth and murkiness by Peter Shaffer s 1979 play Amadeus, adapted for film in The enormous box office success of the movie forged a tantalising conspiratorial link in the public mind between the Requiem, Mozart s death while composing it, and the deadly enmity of his rival Salieri. In truth, 1791 was a year of prodigious triumph as well as tragedy. With the production of La Clemenza di Tito and The Magic Flute, Mozart was beginning to see off the financial despair and personal anxiety that had lately haunted him. He also wrote at this time the Ave Verum Corpus motet, the final piano concerto, the final string quintet and the clarinet concerto. But on the day of his death, December 5th, the Requiem remained unfinished. The composer was only thirty-six. He left a wife, Constanze, and two surviving children, Karl, aged seven, and baby Franz. Four other children had died in infancy. But that is the end of the story. The Mozart who wrote the Solemn Vespers de Confessore was a young man of twenty four, full of emotion, broken-hearted by his failure to marry the singer Aloysia Weber, troubled by the death of his mother, busy trying to ride and also to recover from his international childhood celebrity - and all the while bursting with an astonishing 3 Continued on page 7

4 Vesperæ Solennes de Confessore (Solemn Vespers) K339 1 Chorus with quartet Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110 The Lord said unto my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet ) Eleanor Vale soprano, Anne Glover alto, John Timewell tenor, Derek Beaven bass 2 Chorus with quartet Confitebor tibi Domine (Psalm 111 I shall acknowledge you, O Lord, in my whole heart, in the guidance of the just and in the congregation ) Julia Millard soprano, Anna Trocmé Latter alto, David Hazeldine tenor, Paul Seddon bass 3 Chorus with quartet Beatus vir (Psalm 112 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who will delight greatly in his commandments ) Kirsty Kinge soprano, Joanna Henwood alto, William Branston tenor, Arthur Creswell bass 4 Chorus Laudate pueri Dominum (Psalm 113 Praise the Lord, his children. Praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be blessed ) 5 Chorus with solo Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Psalm 117 Praise the Lord all peoples, praise him all nations, since his merciful kindness over us is assured ) Sandy Johnstone soprano 6 Chorus with quartet Magnificat (St Luke, The Song of Mary My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my saviour ) Kirsty Kinge soprano, Anna Trocmé Latter alto, Malcolm Stork tenor, Arthur Creswell bass Piano Concerto No 21 in C Major K467 Jozef Janik piano 1 Allegro maestoso 2 Andante 3 Allegro vivace assai INTERVAL 4

5 Requiem K626 1 Chorus with solo Requiem æternam (Give them eternal rest, O Lord, and may a perpetual light shine on them ) Marianne Stork soprano 2 Chorus Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.) 3 Chorus Dies iræ (Day of wrath, that day shall dissolve the world into ashes, according both to David and the Sibyl ) 4 Quartet Tuba mirum (The trumpet, scattering a wonderful sound throughout the tombs of every region shall bring all before the throne ) Kirsty Kinge soprano, Anna Trocmé Latter alto, William Branston tenor, Arthur Creswell bass 5 Chorus Rex tremendæ (O King of terrifying majesty, you who freely save those who are worthy to be saved, save me, O fount of mercy ) 6 Quartet Recordare (Remember, kind Jesus, that I am the cause of your journey; do not abandon me on that day ) Eleanor Vale soprano, Anne Glover alto, Malcolm Stork tenor, Derek Beaven bass 7 Chorus Confutatis maledictis (Once the accursed have been confounded, sentenced to the fierce flames, call me with your saints ) 8 Chorus Lachrymosa (Tearful will be that day upon which the guilty man who is to be judged arises from the ashes ) 9 Chorus with quartet Domine Jesu (Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of all the departed from the pains of the fire and from the deep lake ) Marianne Stork soprano, Anna Trocmé Latter alto, John Timewell tenor, Derek Beaven bass 10 Chorus Hostias (Sacrifices and prayers of praise we offer to you, O Lord; accept them on behalf of those souls whom we remember today ) 11 Chorus Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest ) 12 Quartet Benedictus (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.) Julia Millard soprano, Joanna Henwood alto, William Branston tenor, Paul Seddon bass 13 Chorus Agnus Dei (Lamb of God you who bear the sins of the world give them eternal rest.) 14 Chorus with solo Lux æterna (May a perpetual light shine on them, O Lord, together with your saints for ever because you are faithful.) Marianne Stork soprano 5

6 Manuscript copy of the Lacrymosa. Title autograph of Requiem superimposed THE CANTORUM ORCHESTRA Violin Katie Sharp, Michiko Negami, Ayako Yamazaki, Minor Atabeck Maddie Bentley, Haruko Motohashi Viola Rebekah Brown, Sue Black Cello Alice Hoskins, Lauren Steele Bass Li Boberg Flute Julia Bentley Dawkes Clarinet Sandy Gomm, Caroline Woodhouse Bassoon Sally Bartholomew, John Halley Trumpet Andy Smets, Kevin Shanklin Trombone Rob Croft, Harry Ledger Howard Beagley Timpani Ben Gale Oboe Lorna Rennie 6

7 Continued from Page 3 creativity. The Solemn Vespers do indeed exhibit a virtuosity and promise that look forward to the later, fuller, sacred works. And the piece has its own small mystery. Why was it written, when, and for whom? The year we know Mozart himself wrote 1780 at the top of the manuscript. But someone else gave it the present title. And who was the Confessore, the minor saint in question? To cut a long musicological story short, current opinion suggests the Vespers were probably commissioned by Archbishop Colloredo, Mozart s somewhat unlikable employer, for September 24 th, the feast of St Rupert (the city s patron saint ) at the Salzburg cathedral. The work is in the form of a sequence of psalms, rounded off with a setting of Mary s song, the Magnificat. Its character is almost diametrically opposed to the grandeur and terror of the Requiem, being in several of the movements lively and dance-like, with a suggestion of the ballroom or opera rather than the church. This quality is often missed in recordings, but it is something Liz Toye has been working on in rehearsals and which we are very much hoping to bring out in our performance tonight. And then, of course, there is the gorgeous Laudate Dominum for soprano! It would be fascinating to know for whom that was written; while Mozart himself played the organ. Mozart s Piano Concerto in C No 21 was finished in March He had married Aloysia Weber s younger sister, Constanze (also a singer), in The family had moved to Vienna, where performances of Mozart s piano concertos four a year soon proved extremely popular. No 21 was written at the height of this brief period of financial success; it is, of course, bright, technically thrilling and completely delightful. The use of the Andante during the soundtrack of the 1967 film Elvira Madigan has led to the modern association of the whole work with that title. But it has always been justifiably famous in its own right, and we look forward very much to Jozef s performance this evening. Throughout musical history, many composers have been inspired by the Catholic Requiem Mass. It is an unusual service, with the largest part taken up by a long and striking poem. Thomas of Celano s rhymed mediaeval Latin demonstrates extreme anxiety about the approach of death and conjures intense visions of the day of wrath (dies irae), the last trumpet scattering its wonderful sound (tuba mirum spargens sonum) and the howls of the damned in the fierce flames (flammis acribus). The following part of the mass seeks with sacrifices and prayers (hostias et preces) urgently to hold God to his promise as once you promised to Abraham (quam olim Abrahae promisisti) to deliver the departed souls from the lion s mouth (de ore leonis) and allow them to join the company of the blessed. Mozart s Requiem was a commission. Whether he actually knew he was dying as he took it, we don t know. He did struggle desperately to complete it, for if Constanze could not come up with a finished work after her husband s funeral she would be left unable to claim the greater part of the payment for it. So it actually appears to have been Constanze, in financial necessity, who both managed and concealed the Requiem s secret completion by Mozart s friend and assistant, Franz Süssmayr. It was also Constanze who, in the process, deliberately disseminated much of the surrounding mystery. We know that Mozart wrote and sketched material as far as the Lachrymosa section. We know that the ending of the Requiem recapitulates its opening. What we do not know is just how much of the finished product is Süssmayr s. The work, nevertheless, is surely and superbly evocative of Mozart at his peak and remains among the best loved and most moving examples of his art. He was particularly inspired in its composition by his study of Handel the theme of the fugue in the Kyrie section is directly quoted from the And with his Stripes chorus in Messiah and we feel very proud now to follow our own performance of Messiah with this glorious work. We do hope you enjoy it. 7

8 Future Cantorum Concerts: Date: Event: Venue: NB Saturday 8th December NB 7.00 pm Christmas Carol Concert NB One performance only Holy Trinity Church, Cookham NB Not Cookham Dean Date: Sunday 17th February 2013 Event: Valentines Supper Concert Venue: Liston Hall, Marlow SL7 1DD Date: Saturday 29th June 2013 Event: Summer Concert Venue: Holy Trinity Church, Cookham SL6 9SP Grateful thanks are due to: Our rehearsal pianists Jozef Janik & Andrew McKenna The Stationery Depot, Cookham Rise Parade All others who have helped in the production of this concert. And thanks to you, our audience, for your continued support If you would like to become a friend or patron of Cantorum Choir, please us: info@cantorumchoir.org.uk If you or your organization would like to consider sponsoring Cantorum Choir in some way, then please call us on to discuss the various options. You can also follow us on Facebook and on Cantorum Choir info@cantorumchoir.org.uk This year supporting FAMILY FRIENDS & AIR AMBULANCE 8 Registered Charity no: